Beginning Aug. 19, Tomball ISD is allowing all students to use the district’s bus transportation system for the first three weeks of classes regardless of if students are registered for transportation, according to an email sent to parents Aug. 18. The district is experiencing staffing shortages, and increased enrollment and ridership, which is causing delays in the processing of bus registrations, the email said.

The district will process all bus registrations during this three-week period and notify parents directly with their child’s bus route information. Parents who have not registered for bus services must do so by Aug. 25 for children to be cleared to ride by Sept. 7.

Students will need their SMART Tags in order to ride the bus. The tags were first implemented in January and serve as ID cards to identify students and track their transportation use, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. Elementary students must attach the tags to their backpacks, and secondary students need to wear them on a lanyard around their neck.

Parents can direct questions to the transportation department by calling 281-357-3193.